Chief Planner Jennifer Keesmaat to leave City of Toronto

[WislaHD]

When I saw this tweet weeks ago, it made me think about Keesmaat's long-term intentions.

 

[jje1000]

Late to the discussion but I agree with others. 2018 is too early for mayor, especially with Thug back in the running. Tory will retire in 2022 and the Fords will (hopefully) be a distant memory, and Keesmaat would be an ideal candidate.

I wouldn't rule out her running in Ward 16 though. Others pointed to the new downtown wards, but Ward 16 is held by a very weak councilor and is closer to Keesmaat's home. It would be one more urbanist vote on council too, since we should assume that whoever wins downtown will be progressive.

The timing of Keesmaat's departure is interesting though. She (as she has publicly stated in recent weeks) loves this city and took the job because of it's challenges even though she could make much more in the private sector. I too think that she must know something that the rest of us will learn in the coming months.

Not a bad idea- I like the thought of Keesmaat staying with the city to some degree- and she can hopefully use a potential council run as a springboard for a future mayoral run.

Would be a huge shame to lose Keesmaat to another city.

 

[ShonTron]

Late to the discussion but I agree with others. 2018 is too early for mayor, especially with Thug back in the running. Tory will retire in 2022 and the Fords will (hopefully) be a distant memory, and Keesmaat would be an ideal candidate.

I wouldn't rule out her running in Ward 16 though. Others pointed to the new downtown wards, but Ward 16 is held by a very weak councilor and is closer to Keesmaat's home. It would be one more urbanist vote on council too, since we should assume that whoever wins downtown will be progressive.

The timing of Keesmaat's departure is interesting though. She (as she has publicly stated in recent weeks) loves this city and took the job because of it's challenges even though she could make much more in the private sector. I too think that she must know something that the rest of us will learn in the coming months.

Ward 16 would be a very good fit. It would also be blow to Tory - Carmichael-Greb, an ineffective and silent councillor, was Tory's hand-picked choice in that ward. CCG has been little more than a reliable vote for Tory.

 

[WislaHD]

Ward 16 would be a very good fit. It would also be blow to Tory - Carmichael-Greb, an ineffective and silent councillor, was Tory's hand-picked choice in that ward. CCG has been little more than a reliable vote for Tory.

CCG has also been absolutely dire for any sort of responsible planning in her Ward. She has allowed the rubber-stamping of condos in her ward with next to no review.

I think Keesmaat would have an incredibly easy time picking CCG's 4 years apart in a campaign.

 

[ShonTron]

CCG has also been absolutely dire for any sort of responsible planning in her Ward. She has allowed the rubber-stamping of condos in her ward with next to no review.

I think Keesmaat would have an incredibly easy time picking CCG's 4 years apart in a campaign.

It's hard to stop condo construction, but there are things a good councillor can do to mitigate their impacts and get the most benefit for the community. Adam Vaughan was effective in this, even if it looked like he was too development-friendly. Most current downtown councillors get this as well. Matlow is a bit reactionary, but he is at least doing something too. CCG is MIA.

 

[ADRM]

Ward 16 would be a very good fit. It would also be blow to Tory - Carmichael-Greb, an ineffective and silent councillor, was Tory's hand-picked choice in that ward. CCG has been little more than a reliable vote for Tory.

Much as I'd like to see her grab a seat back from the awful Greb-Tory coalition don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell Keesmaat runs for a Council seat; she'd see it as a step down.

 

[WislaHD]

It's hard to stop condo construction, but there are things a good councillor can do to mitigate their impacts and get the most benefit for the community. Adam Vaughan was effective in this, even if it looked like he was too development-friendly. Most current downtown councillors get this as well. Matlow is a bit reactionary, but he is at least doing something too. CCG is MIA.

Which is unfortunate for the Ward's residents. Development was the number 1 topic issue in 2014, as Karen Stintz towards the end of her tenure was also perceived as MIA to in-bed with developers. The majority of the Ward voted for candidates who promised stronger stance on development, but CCG gained a very shallow plurality of votes (17%) from the Tory endorsement and won.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Am I right in thinking that her tenure was fairly ho-hum?

No DRL, no demand that new condos be matched with expanded school and transit capacity. Sure, a planner can't get any of this done without city support, but I would have made these a condition of accepting the position in the first place.

 

[Admiral Beez]

This thread should not be about the elections. Talk about the Chief Planner and 'city planning'

.This thread should focus on her accomplishments, failures, relationship with various people, who her replacement should be, etc.

Says who? This is Edward Skira's thread. He can tell us what the thread's supposed to be about.

 

[OneCity]

For readers wondering why my post is missing, it's because I realized right after I posted that it would be misunderstood, so I deleted it. One City's line of attack on Keesmaat is not clear, which was exactly one of my points that I'll make again:
You'd be damning her no matter what she did, and since you reinforce that with your follow on post, I stand by it.

Since she had no ability to over-rule the Mayor and Council's completely misguided and uninformed decisions, if she had a failing, it's not resigning at that time. But then, of course, some would be chiding her for resigning when the going gets tough. In the event, she stayed and tried to make a piece of turd shine.

In the event, I and anyone else informed without a bias from living in Scarberial Denial will support canceling the subway. It's one of the most azz-backwards moves this city has ever made. It even tops the Sheppard Subway. And even the architect of that, Lastman, doesn't support SSE.

And I also challenged One City in my deleted post to name one...ONE...accredited transit authority who thinks it is a good plan. I note that One City has ignored that challenge.

Are you a quitter?

Just saw this. A bit personal? Anyway Ill respond once and hope it clears it up.

• I said Keesmat was in a tough position, but I questioned her political motives, given the recent PR and high praise through the "Left" media. We'll see what she does in the future. Sorry that offended you. didn't know the thread was for praising Keesmat only.
• Lastman? Who cares what he thinks. He's the main reason we wont have LRT on Sheppard west of Kennedy Rd. What a hypocrite
• I don't support the one stop subway, or the transfer LRT. Both are flawed and unfortunate in differing ways.
• Quitter? Take it easy with your personal challenge, Simply because I don't support the transfer LRT doesn't mean you can paint me in a corner of a one stop lover
• You only get so many choices at election time and a well connected LRT or subway on the RT corridor would have made a great compromise. Oh well. Progress and no transfers, with a Smarttrack stop isn't even that bad to replace the RT when the opposition is stuck in the mud on an "evidence based" political plan from another decade that was flawed enough not lose its support when called out.
• No hope for compromise and going back to the LRT would be just as "Azz backwards" for us "Scarberians" again as you coined

Your post seems like a "gotcha" post and gets a tad too directly personal and even the "Scarberian" and "are you a quitter" nonsense to stir the pot. Make your point about Keesmat, transit, politics or whatever else is relevant and argue my points without being personal please as I wont engage in this type of post next time.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

The timing of Keesmaat's departure is interesting though. She (as she has publicly stated in recent weeks) loves this city and took the job because of it's challenges even though she could make much more in the private sector. I too think that she must know something that the rest of us will learn in the coming months.

I don't know about this. The timing makes perfect logical sense if she were to run for a council position next year.

 

[WislaHD]

I don't know about this. The timing makes perfect logical sense if she were to run for a council position next year.

That is the other option of course.

I'm just taking her at face value when she says she won't run for office.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

That is the other option of course.

I'm just taking her at face value when she says she won't run for office.

You're right. I forgot she did mention that.

 

[steveintoronto]

You're right. I forgot she did mention that.

I was hoping she would, based on altruism and the desire for something better at City Hall. After listening to her podcasts, I can believe she has no desire to further compromise her ideals by serving undeserving masters.

She can do more on the outside, where thumbs can't reach.

 

[BurlOak]

Steve Munro has a piece on Waterfront transit.
Waterfront Transit Reset Phase 2 Update
One comment is not too flattering of Keesmaat.
Comment:

Can the TTC please take back planning of transit infrastructure again? I’m ready. At this rate I’d be happy to see planning for all of the proposed transit projects taken out of the hands of City Planning who can’t seem to act in the best interests of the people who will be using what these jokers are doodling on their napkins and Powerpoints.

Steve: The transition took place under Jennifer Keesmaat’s watch as Chief Planner, and it will be interesting to see what happens after she leaves.